4eLab report template

Short, descriptive title Your name (and possibly lab partner’s name) Abstract Introduction (scope and purpose of your experiment) Brief description of methods Results Your conclusions Introduction Make a general statement likely to interest the reader in your topic Review current literature (primary journal articles) on the topic Paraphrase information from the literature and cite the source; not use direct quotations Do not reference information that is common knowledge (i.e., familiar to your audience) Use proper citation format (Name–Year or Citation–Sequence format) Describe a question or unresolved problem related to this topic State the objectives of your study/experiment in the final paragraph Materials and Methods Write in full sentences and paragraphs; not use a numbered list Provide enough detail to enable the reader to repeat the experiment Do not explain routine procedures (e.g., not explain how to use a micropipettor) Use past tense Use passive voice to emphasize the action (active voice is allowed in some disciplines) Do not list materials separately Do not say that you will graph and interpret the data Results Include a body (text) in which you describe the data in each visual: Make each sentence meaningful Describe the trend, rather than listing the actual numbers © 2013 Sinauer Associates, Inc All rights reserved Permission granted to users of A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology to download and adapt this form for their own use For educational use only, not for commercial use or resale 2 Refer to each table and figure by number in parentheses at the end of the first sentence in which you describe that visual Do not interpret or give possible explanations for the results Visuals (tables and graphs): Do not include raw data; instead average the data and use statistics where appropriate Do not include both a table and a figure for the same data Position the visual immediately after the paragraph in which you first describe it Give each figure and table a caption that consists of a number and a short, descriptive title The title should enable the reader to understand the visual without having to refer to the body of the Results section  Figure captions go below the figure  Table captions go above the table Discussion Briefly restate the results Interpret the results and provide possible explanations Present evidence for your conclusions Show how your results relate to findings published in the primary literature (journal articles) Provide enough detail from the source to show how it is relevant to your experiment Point out any inconsistencies in your data (if appropriate) Discuss possible sources of error (if appropriate) Describe the implications of your work in a broader context (if appropriate) Describe possible future work on this topic (if appropriate) References References consist mostly of journal articles, not textbooks or Internet sources Include only sources that you have cited in the body of your lab report Make sure all cited sources are listed in the References section Use proper reference format (Name–Year or Citation–Sequence format)